The present invention relates to a method of inspecting defects and a device of inspecting defects for inspecting defects of a fine pattern formed on a wafer after a thin-film process represented by a semiconductor manufacturing process and a manufacturing process of a flat panel display.
An existing semiconductor inspecting device is described in Patent Document 1 (WO2003/069263). The inspecting device mounts a dark field detection optical system which detects scattered light on a wafer by illuminating a surface of the wafer from a tilted direction by laser light. Diffracted light from a cyclic pattern is shielded by a spatial filter arranged at a back focus position (exit pupil position) of an objective lens in this optical system.